Three Kingdoms: Prince of the Great Wei, Prime Minister Cao

“Oh?”

“Zhongda, please share your thoughts.”

“How have you concluded that my eighth brother wouldn’t sway Generals Yu and Zhang and pose a threat to me?”

Cao Pi turned around and calmly addressed the middle-aged scholar who had appeared by his side. His facial expression revealed neither joy nor anger. It wasn’t that he wished to conceal his emotions. Instead, Cao Pi didn’t want to reveal them before the astute Sima Yi. This man wasn’t like those others who had secretly pledged allegiance to him.

With those people, Cao Pi could discern their thoughts at a glance and understand their motives and ambitions. Cao Pi believed he could grasp even someone as sharp as Chen Qun. Yet, this Sima Yi before him…

Although he was reluctant to admit it, Cao Pi sometimes genuinely couldn’t decipher this person’s true intentions. The depth of his hidden thoughts made even Cao Pi himself feel wary. Beside Cao Pi, Sima Yi’s appearance was calm, but his eyelids twitched imperceptibly upon hearing Cao Pi’s composed words.

From Cao Pi’s demeanor, Sima Yi immediately realized that his previous statement had likely been misconstrued. The young master Cao Pi’s concerns probably didn’t revolve around whether Cao Ju would sway Yu Jin and Zhang Liao, but rather he was concerned solely about Cao Ju himself. His concerns had nothing to do with Zhang Liao and Yu Jin. Yet, under Cao Pi’s gaze, Sima Yi, who had realized this, didn’t immediately show it. He instead feigned ignorance and continued to sustain the earlier topic, responding to Cao Pi’s question.

“It’s quite simple!”

“Yu Jin has a solitary disposition, while Zhang Liao is astute enough to grasp the situation.”

Upon hearing Sima Yi’s assessment, Cao Pi became interested. Even if Sima Yi’s words weren’t addressing his foremost concern about Cao Ju, he didn’t mind listening to learn more about the characters of Zhang Liao and Yu Jin.

“Zhongda, please continue.”

Sima Yi continued, “Yu Jin, though currently favored by the Prime Minister and holding a position among the top non-clan generals in the army, just below the likes of Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun, and Cao Ren, has a glaring and fatal personality flaw.”

“In terms of leading and managing troops, what others might see is his serious and solemn demeanor while commanding troops, his refusal to keep any spoils from the battle for himself, and his ability to control even the undisciplined Qingzhou soldiers, earning him the title of a top general…”

“However, in my view, what I see is that he often deals with subordinates using harsh military laws, rarely earning their loyalty. Although the soldiers respect him and adhere to his orders, in reality…Their respect is outweighed by fear. Do you still remember the incident involving Chang Xi?” Sima Yi reminded Cao Pi.

With this prompt, Cao Pi immediately recollected what Sima Yi was referring to. In the 11th year of Jian’an, Chang Xi, originally a bandit from Mount Tai, surrendered to his father, Cao Cao, and rebelled again. At the time, Cao Cao had sent Yu Jin to suppress the rebellion in Dongjun County. However, despite Yu Jin’s swift attacks, he struggled to breach the defensive stronghold held by Chang Xi.

And so it happened. Cao Cao, Yu Jin’s father, sent his uncle Xiahou Yuan to lead troops and join forces with Yu Jin in the battle. Caught in a pincer movement, Chang Xi found himself unable to resist and, with no other choice, contemplated surrendering once again.

Faced with the decision of surrendering to Xiahou Yuan or Yu Jin, Chang Xi, thinking of his past friendship with Yu Jin, chose to surrender to him. Upon Chang Xi’s surrender, the generals in the army believed that Chang Xi should be handed over to Cao Cao for punishment, considering he had surrendered. However, Yu Jin voiced a different opinion.

“Do you not know the orders that Lord Cao frequently issues? Those who surrender only after being surrounded by our forces cannot be pardoned. Adhering to and enforcing the law is the integrity of serving the ruler. While Chang Xi was once my friend, I cannot compromise my principles for that.”

After that, Yu Jin bid farewell to Chang Xi, shedding tears as he executed him. Upon learning of Yu Jin’s actions, even Cao Cao sighed, “Chang Xi chose Yu Jin over surrendering to me. Destiny indeed!”

After this incident, Cao Cao began to hold Yu Jin in even higher regard.

Sima Yi was constantly observing Cao Pi’s changing expressions. Once Cao Pi caught on…

He continued, “Strict military discipline is indeed necessary!”

“However, if one is willing to kill their old friend in the name of upholding military law, it might go too far and seem devoid of compassion.”

“Such an individual, when in power, soldiers might fight valiantly under their authority, and colleagues might avoid conflict due to their favor in the eyes of the ruler. But, Once they lose their position, soldiers won’t feel loyalty, and colleagues won’t intercede.”

“Therefore, I can firmly assert…”

“Choose the loyal minister, Yu Jin, who enforces strict military law.”

“Survival is not guaranteed!”

“Death is likely to be an ignominious end. Such a person isn’t so easily swayed by others. Even if they were to pledge allegiance, they would be a potential threat, endangering the lord they stand behind.”

Sima Yi gave his assessment of Yu Jin. If Cao Ju were here, he would surely be astounded by Sima Yi’s words because the historical outcome for Yu Jin was, indeed, as Sima Yi had asserted. During the Battle of Xiangyang, after the Wei army suffered a major defeat at the hands of Guan Yu, even though it was widely known that Yu Jin had been stationed in a low-lying area north of Xiangyang due to orders from Cao Ren, redirecting the flow of the Han River’s water, which allowed Guan Yu to flood his position and defeat him.

Even though they were aware that Cao Ren should shoulder a significant portion of the blame for the defeat of the Seventh Army, when it came time to find a scapegoat for the defeat, they still placed the blame on Yu Jin, making him the scapegoat for the failure. Cao Pi took advantage of the situation and, after Yu Jin was returned to Wei and subsequently forced to commit suicide through humiliation, maintained the appearance of dignity for Wei after the defeat in the Battle of Xiangyang.

Regarding the reason, isn’t Yu Jin’s character solitary and unrelatable?

His isolation from human sentiments prevented anyone from interceding on his behalf. Ultimately, when the lord he was loyal to chose to abandon him…his death became an inevitable consequence of passing the buck. Unfortunately, Cao Ju wasn’t present to hear Sima Yi’s remarkable analysis of Yu Jin’s character. As for Cao Pi, after hearing Sima Yi’s explanation, he was left in awe. Considering his impression of Yu Jin up until now. He realized the man seemed exactly as Sima Yi had described—isolated.

“Zhongda, what about Zhang Liao?”

“Why did you say he… understands the situation?”

Sima Yi’s explanation for this had only one sentence.

“If Zhang Wenyuan (Zhang Liao) didn’t understand the situation, back when Lu Bu died…He would already be dead!”